Russian veteran Maxim Vlasov 45-3 (26) says doesn’t see anything special in Joe Smith Jr 26-3 (21) who he will meet for the vacant WBO light heavyweight title at ‘The Bubble’ at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada on Saturday night.
“This is a great chance for me, a great opportunity,” the 34-year-old Vlasov told FightHype. “Just taking into account what a great career I’ve had and I’ve had so many fights. It’s a great opportunity for me and I will do my best.
“I don’t think Joe Smith did anything in particular to win the fight with [Eleider] Alvarez. It’s not as if he presented any technique or did anything outstanding or anything outrageous.
“I think Joe Smith was more offensive and more aggressive during the fight. The mistakes Alvarez did allow Joe Smith to advance and outbox Alvarez.
“Smith is a very, very basic fighter, a very simple fighter and predictable. So he’s always the same. So that’s why I believe the mistakes of Alvarez allowed Joe Smith to win the fight.”
Long Island’s Smith, 31, won back-to-back fights against Jessie Hart and Eleider Alvarez last year after dropping a 12-round unanimous decision to undefeated WBA light heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol 17-0 (11) in New York in March 2019.
Vlasov commented on that fight and issued the New Yorker with a warning.
“It was the strengths of Bivol. He didn’t step back, and he was standing toe-to-toe with Joe Smith, and he was very fast, and that’s why he was able to win with Joe Smith,” Vlasov said.
“I would suggest that Joe Smith not look forward too far. He has to box past me first. In this particular fight with Joe Smith, I am rather the underdog but I’m going to surprise everybody. Yes, then I might think about my next fight and what to do next.
“I’m going to look to fight these obvious champions, Artur Beterbiev and Dimitry Bivol. This is my next step. Right now, I’m fully focused on this upcoming fight with Joe Smith Jr.”
Vlasov moved up to cruiserweight after losing a decision to Gilberto Ramirez in 2015 and went undefeated in 12 fights across four years before running into former WBO 200-pound champion Krzysztof Glowacki and losing on points.
Since dropping back down to his natural weight class of 175-pounds, Vlasov has put together three wins against solid opposition.
“First of all, cruiserweight was not my original weight,” Vlasov said. “I started as a middleweight fighter. Later on, yes, I tried to move up to a category, but it was rather an accident.
“So I attempted to get the WBO title at cruiserweight. However, I didn’t think this was a long-term objective for me and I didn’t feel as comfortable as I did at light heavyweight and middleweight.
“If I take this extra weight off me, I can be more interesting and a better fighter. So I’m sure I will continue to fight at light heavyweight and middleweight rather than cruiserweight because cruiserweight fighters are larger fighters and it’s not what I want to do in the future.
“I’m not going to fight at middleweight. It was the beginning of my career only. So it will be light heavyweight only. I would like to say that I am happy that I have this opportunity to fight with Joe Smith.
“And I consider myself the winner upfront. I feel it’s on and I understand the fight will be tough. I’m happy. I’m happy to be here; I’m happy to fight. As I said before, I will surprise you all.”
